​It’s the last day of February, and we have just completed the Eye Camp. And what a success it was! I had a good deal of trepidation going into it, as we had no idea how many patients would show up, thus no way to gauge how much medicine to buy. And talk about mis-communication and misunderstanding – I was fit to be tied in the days leading up to our start date. But then Dr Wolfgang Hasselkus and his friend Johann arrived and the pace picked up. Dr Wolfgang has a family practice in Germany, but has been coming to the Border for over 30 years. For many years now he has been holding Eye Camps, where he cares for the visually disabled from inside Burma, concentrating on operations to address cataracts and glaucoma. The doctor and I hit it off straight away and he came to rely on me to take care of technical and organizational matters. We held the Eye Camp in a large building in the next village and the first item of business was to create an operating theater using drapes for the walls and ceiling. After Registration, the patients would have their vision tested with a locally adapted Snellen chart. Then it was on to the IOP test, (Intra-Ocular Pressure) and then examination by the doctor, who decided if the patient required a cataract operation, an operation to address glaucoma or simply spectacles. My role was to check in on each department, making sure they had what they needed, lend a hand where necessary and generally keep things running smoothly, so Dr Wolfgang could concentrate on his operations. Despite my earlier reservations, everything worked extremely well.We registered 230 patients in five and a half days, 40 of whom were operated on and 150 of whom got spectacles. The spectacle workshop was one of the highlights for me. Johann was in charge and he brought about 250 pairs of used spectacles from Germany. These were no longer wanted by their former owners, because they needed stronger lenses or just fancied more fashionable frames. The only way to fit patients needing glasses to a pile of existing glasses is to have them try on pair after pair, until we could locate the best five out of twenty, then pick the best pair of all. Not a high tech approach, but most patients were happy with their new spectacles. If the patient had significant disparity of vision between the right and left eyes, then we did Refraction, which identifies the strength of lens required for each eye. Johann had brought many empty frames and also new lenses, purchased in Thailand. He then proceeded to train local people to administer the Refraction test, trim down the correct lenses and fit them to the frames chosen by the patient. This was a very successful part of the Eye Camp, and we hope that the newly trained folks will be able to continue to supply custom eye glasses to the local people. Dr Wolfgang donated the Refraction tool and has offered to keep them supplied with lenses and frames.All in all, the Eye Camp was a great success, and my participation in it was the most satisfying work I have done here, so far. It has bucked my spirits up considerably. Dr Wolfgang has asked me to join him again next year and to help develop a portable power set-up, that would allow him to push further inside Burma. He has a clinic just over the border from Mae Sot, but he would like to extend eye care to the poorest, most remote villages in eastern Burma. It’s wonderful work, and I hope I can help him in the future.NawpawluluAlthough being completely involved with the Eye Clinic, Napawlulu has just accepted a 16-month old child who is HIV positive and also has TB. Medicine for both conditions will be provided by the Thai-Burma Border Consortium.My ProjectsMy 1” black poly pipe finally arrived from Bangkok, but through the good offices of a friend rather than the lame hardware store in town! This week I am off to Whispering Seed to help with a rainwater catchment system and design the future PV expansion.

​Going into my second month here on the Border, and things are beginning to fall into place.Regarding projects we are sponsoring, things have been moving ahead:NapawluluI transferred $1,990 to Napawlulu’s account and requested the money be spent on the following items: 1) Warm blankets, mosquito nets and sandals for all 80 people at her Safe House, Children’s Home and Elderly Home. 2) The construction of a new chicken coop and the purchase of 8 hens, a rooster and some starter chicken feed. 4) The completion of the new shop front, which will sell woven items, eggs and hopefully a wider range of products in the future. 5) The construction of a new fish pond for raising cat fish for the patients to eat. It’s amazing how far $2,000 can stretch here. Labor is cheap and materials are expensive. Yesterday I saw two men cutting a tree trunk into planks, using the ancient pit saw method – one guy’s down in a pit, the other is standing on the log, placed across the pit, and they are using a cross-cut saw to cut the planks, a very primitive, extremely labor intensive, technique. As Napawlulu’s sponsors have told her that her funding will be reduced, and may disappear in some cases, over the next three years, we have been brainstorming around developing new, more local and dependable revenue streams for her project. Ideas include a rice mill, taking in sewing work on a large scale and expanded vegetable and meat/egg production. I will be bringing back about 30 Karen woven sarongs as fundraising items for sale also. The main project we are gearing up for at the moment is an eye operation clinic which Napawlulu offered to host and organize, in just under 3 weeks. Yesterday she and I spent the afternoon cutting up material for the drapes to cover the patient’s faces during the operation. Soon, Nandoe and his son will build the operating tables themselves – again, it’s cheap labor vs expensive finished products. The surgeon is from Germany and spends part of each year doing cataract operations on the Border – such great work!My projectsI have had great trouble securing some of the materials I need. I have been waiting for 3 weeks already for the black tubing for the solar hot water system at Napawlulu’s. This might necessitate a trip to Bangkok, but I have had the offer of help from a Thai speaker, to make sure I get everything and at a decent price. My two solar PV panels should arrive this week and that will allow me to start experimenting with the water pumps – what fun!I visited a remote Karen village called Ti Lai Pa recently, where they will build a small clinic. I offered to install a very basic solar PV system for them, and this will go ahead as soon as the structure has walls and a roof. The village straddles the border, with the clinic in Thailand and the school in Burma! I hope they get it to a workable point before I have to leave. It is also proposed that I install a small PV system in the orphanage inside the nearest refugee camp, which houses 4,000 people. However, as foreigners, not connected to one of the large aid agencies are not allowed to enter the camp, this seemed a remote possibility. Then it was “suggested” that I could get access if I gave the Thai Border Police a solar panel, ($600 value). I told them that the solar panel wouldn’t work where I “suggested” they stuff it. Welcome to the Border!I have been working with a group of four Italian actors who are training the kids in Children of the Forest home to put on a performance in a local park. It’s a rework of a Mon legend about the Rabbit on the Moon. I spent all day today getting their lighting and sound system up to snuff. Great people, great fun.The Sangkhlaburi Roxie is really starting to take off! I’ve shown movies every night this week and will continue to do so, as long as there is interest.Take care, stay in touch and keep that warm place in your heart open to the folks here on the Border